:L. Jay Caldwell

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1871–1950)}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = L. Jay Caldwell

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1871|6|19}}

| birth_place = Ephratah, New York, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death year and age|1950|1871}}

| death_place = Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, U.S.

| alma_mater = Colgate University (1897)
Harvard University

| player_years1 = {{Circa|1891–1896}}

| player_team1 = Colgate

| coach_years1 = 1893, 1895

| coach_team1 = Colgate

| overall_record = 7–2–2

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships =

| awards =

| coaching_records =

}}

L. Jay Caldwell (June 19, 1871 – 1950) was an American college football player and coach. He was the fourth head football coach at Colgate University and he held that position for two seasons, first in 1893 and then returning for 1895. His overall coaching record at Colgate was 7–2–2.[https://web.archive.org/web/20201031084801/http://www.colgatesports.com/sports/football/2007%20Guide/2007%20FB%20Web%20Guide.pdf Colgate Sports] 2007 Football Media Guide

Caldwell was born in Ephratah, New York in 1871.{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/generalcatalogue00colgrich#page/188/mode/2up|title = A general catalogue of Colgate university issued in April MCMXIII at Hamilton, New York|year = 1913|publisher = [Hamilton, Colgate university}} He married May Thorne on July 20, 1904, in Jamaica, New York. Caldwell later taught mathematics at a high school in Amsterdam, New York. In 1913, he was teaching at an Orange, New Jersey high school. By the 1940 United States Census, Caldwell and his wife were retired and living in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He died there in 1950.

Racial integration

Caldwell coached the university's first African-American football player in 1895. No records were kept of the player's name, but a photograph (left) does exist.[http://www4.colgate.edu/scene/sept2004/early_football.html# Leather helmets and the flying wedge (The Colgate Scene, September 2004)]